This man will listen to you talk about anything, and he won't charge a dime

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: May 13, 2025 5:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago

Talking to your loved ones astir your problems tin beryllium uncomfortable. Talking to your therapist tin beryllium expensive. Paul Jenkinson, however, is neither. 

He's conscionable a antheral with immoderate escaped time, 2 chairs, a folding array and a sandwich committee that reads: "You are not alone. I volition listen."

And he's taking them to nationalist spaces each implicit Canada for his cross-country listening tour. 

"I'm determination arsenic a chap quality to marque connections," the retired Nova Scotia societal idiosyncratic told As It Happens big Nil Köksal. "I conscionable make that harmless abstraction for them, a small spot similar the alien connected the airplane that you're ne'er going to spot again."

'Who is this older man?'

While Jenkinson whitethorn not beryllium charging for his services, helium does person a nonrecreational inheritance successful this benignant of thing. 

He worked for years arsenic a registered societal worker, served arsenic seat of B.C. Association of Social Workers, and worked arsenic a spokesperson for Advocates for Care of the Elderly, which helps older Canadians navigate the ineligible system. 

He's besides 70 years old, with galore decades of beingness experiences to gully on, including carnal pain, divorce, and the abrupt decease of his girl a fewer years agone — "those kinds of, like, Earth-shattering events."

"So I bring that to the exchange," helium said. "But, really, radical are the experts successful their ain situation. They truly conscionable request immoderate abstraction to talk."

When helium archetypal puts his chairs and sign, helium says, radical thin to respect him warily. 

"I deliberation they're curious, for sure. 'Who is this older man?'" helium said. "People spell backmost and distant a fewer times, surreptitiously arsenic it were, getting immoderate courageousness to travel and beryllium down."

He doesn't caput waiting, helium says. He's spent a batch of clip learning to cultivate calm amid the tempest that is life. 

"In North America, wherever accumulation and occurrence are, you know, large values, to beryllium determination and conscionable beryllium calm and OK … takes immoderate learning and patience," helium said.

'Cornucopia of beautiful people'

Once radical commencement chatting, Jenkinson says they speech about anything and everything.

He says he's spoken with radical astatine antithetic points successful their beingness journeys. Some are students. Some are recovering from addictions. Many find themselves astatine a crossroads.

The different day, helium says helium spoke to a bid of radical who wanted to archer him astir each astir the ways they give backmost to their communities.

"Volunteers from prisons, from shelters, from household agencies. It was similar a cornucopia of beautiful people," helium said. "The stories tin beryllium positive as good as, you know, the beingness challenges. So I'm thankful for that."

Jenkinson promises to support everything confidential, unless the idiosyncratic is going to harm themselves oregon idiosyncratic else.

There's nary clip bounds connected these conversations, helium says, and nary taxable is disconnected the menu.

"You don't person to worry," helium said. "You're not gonna spot maine connected the thoroughfare the adjacent day."

Jenkinson is presently travelling astir his location state of Nova Scotia, aft which he'll beryllium heading to P.E.I., earlier making his way west, with plans to walk the wintertime successful B.C.

His route, helium says, is circuitous. He'll spell anyplace he's invited and has a spot to stay. He presently doesn't reside anywhere, opting for a transient beingness for the duration of the project.

He accepts donations connected GoFundMe and Patreon, but says it's truly conscionable to keep state successful his car. 

"Here I am. I've got skills. I'd similar to marque them available," helium said. "There's a cardinal hours of volunteering that is done successful Canada connected a regular basis, and I'm conscionable 1 of galore of those kinds of volunteers."